Fáilte Ireland asked to research frequency of spikes in hotel prices due to concerts or sporting events

Fáilte Ireland has been asked by the Minister for Tourism to commission independent research on the scale and frequency of spikes in hotel prices when demand is high due to concerts and sporting events.

Catherine Martin told the Dáil on Thursday she would see “what recommendations might arise from that”.

Ms Martin was responding to Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh, who asked whether the minister had met or intends to meet with the Irish Hotels Federation and Fáilte Ireland to raise concerns around the “issue of hotels price gouging, the cancelling of bookings without reasons and the re-advertising of those very same rooms at a much higher rate when major events such as concerts are announced”.

Ms Martin said while Ireland is not a “low-cost destination”, it was vital that the sector “keeps the value-for-money proposition to the fore across all its segments to ensure that our high quality reputation is maintained and that new and repeat visitors continue to come here”.

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“The long-term impacts of short-term thinking need to be carefully considered by all tourism businesses in setting their prices,” she said.

The Green Party TD said while there was fair value to be had in tourism accommodation, including hotels, around the country for much of the year, there were specific price spikes at specific times and locations, often coinciding with concerts and sporting events.

“These spikes, or compression events that occur when demand is highest, have the potential to cause reputational damage for the sector,” she said.

Ms Martin said Fáilte Ireland had advised her such spikes were not “necessarily representative” of the wider hotel sector in general.

“But, to bring some definitive facts to bear on the situation, I have asked Fáilte Ireland to commission independent research to better understand the potential scale and frequency of any pricing issues based on the best available empirical evidence with recommendations for actions arising, as appropriate,” she said.

“While I have not specifically met with the Irish Hotels Federation on this matter, I have raised the issue at a whole-of-sector level as recently as June 28th at the Hospitality and Tourism Forum which I co-chair with the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.”

The minister added her officials continue to engage on an “ongoing basis” with Fáilte Ireland on a range of issues relating to the tourism sector, including potential concerns around pricing.

Mr Ó Snodaigh said cost pressures were not an excuse for the “multiple increases” seen in usual prices around the time of specific concerts, St Patrick’s Day or the recently announced Taylor Swift concerts.

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“Multiples of the usual prices were sought for the costs of rooms or in some cases they cancelled bookings which had already been made for those dates and re-advertised those similar rooms at a higher inflated cost,” he said.

“This cannot continue because it is doing reputational damage. Hopefully the Irish Hotels Federation will heed the warnings about the damage that such actions by some of their members is causing to the tourism industry.”